


Thoughts Occupied with Love

by Pastel_Persephone



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Cute, Dysfunctional Family, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Klance daughter - Freeform, M/M, Parent AU, Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Sass, Shiro is Alive, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Space family, Sweet, bad words, dad jokes, dads, family au, gay shit, good dads, klangst, lots of fluff, parenting, sassy pidge, space boyfriends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 15:09:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11877129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pastel_Persephone/pseuds/Pastel_Persephone
Summary: Purple violets are symbols of love from one person to another. Just like the small girl, born from a purple flower, named after the violets, is a symbol of her fathers' love for one another. Now if only they could see it. Will Violet Kogane-McClain force to see what everyone sees? Or will more intervention be needed?~This story is also posted on Wattpad under the same name.~





	1. Violets, Beautiful Violets

He's having that same damn dream again. The one about the white flower, there is always someone else there though he can never make out who and it always ends the same.

  
Suddenly, a sharp wail startles Lance awake. The crying of a baby, he stirs slightly in a bed he doesn't recognize. When did he fall asleep? There are the soft sounds of someone else in the bed, a sigh and the telltale rise and fall of a chest from beneath the blankets. However, at the moment Lance couldn't be bothered with whoever it was, he needed to find the source of the crying. Wailing children take precedence over mysterious strangers sharing a bed with you, no matter how abnormal the situation.

He scurries out of bed, desperate to find the source of the wailing. The room itself is earthy and ornate, beautiful in a natural sort of way. The floor is cold to the touch and made of nothing but dirt and what he can only guess is hardened clay. He notices that he isn’t in his armor anymore, but instead a soft blue cotton dress of some-sort that falls just a bit past his knees. It’s more lightweight and flowy than what Lance is used to. He's snapped out of his thoughts as the crying persists, questions can wait till later. First priority is finding the crying baby.

In the corner of the room, he finds a familiar flower. It’s purple instead of white, but it’s still the same large flower that keeps showing up in his dreams. It shifts and morphs, Lance realizes that the crying is coming from inside the flower. He reaches out to touch it and is blinded by a flash of light. When he regains his sight, Lance is greeted by a scene he was not expecting.

  
A baby girl lays cradled in the flower, she is no longer crying. Her hair is full and is so dark that it’s almost purple, he reached down and gives a tug at her wavy locks to confirm that he isn't hallucinating. Her light purple eyes snap open at the touch. They search his features quizzically.  
“Well, hello there beautiful, what is a cutie like you doing in a place like this?” He coos at her.

  
The baby moves her head ever so slightly to peer up at him and Lance is gifted with a freckle-faced grin. He puts his hands underneath her head and lifts her gently to cradle her in his arms, “You really are a cutie, aren’t you?” Lance chuckles.

  
He’s suddenly overcome with a wave of exhaustion. “I'm a little sleepy, kiddo. Do you want to come lay down with me for while?” And as if it was on cue, the baby yawns.

  
Lance grins, “I'll take that as yes.” He settles himself and the baby back down on the bed, resting her perfectly on his chest. After a few doboshes, he dozes off before he can remember the fact that there is still a stranger sleeping in bed with next to him.

~~~~~~~  
Keith wakes up scared and confused, which are his two least favorite emotions. He subconsciously reaches for his blade that he always keeps under his pillow, and when finds it’s not there, he bolts upright.

  
There is grunt from a figure lying next to him. Keith looks over at the lump, nervousness pooling in the pit of his stomach, only to find a familiar face. The Blue Paladin has one arm resting on a small body that has taken residency on his chest. It would have been the picture of domestic bliss, had Keith been a girl, married to Lance and/or a parent. Keith, however, is none of those things.

  
Family life is something he never let himself dream of, he's always believed people like him don't get privileges like that.  
There is a scuffle at the door, within seconds Keith leaps out of the bed, rolls on the freezing dirt covered floor and into a standing defensive position. A humanoid plant girl stands in the doorway, carrying a basket of supplies, “I did not mean to wake you, sir. The king figured the child would awaken soon and would require the proper care.”

  
Keith stands down, still on edge, “Yes, the…. baby,” he looks over at the sleeping pair, “Where did she come from?”

  
The girl laughs, handing the basket to Keith, “I believe it would be best if His Highness explained it to you. When your partner and child wake up please come see him. The king will be waiting for you in the gardens.”

  
“It might be a while. Lance sleeps better than he does anything, I swear it's his one talent.” Did he hear her correctly when she said his partner? Hopefully, she didn't get the wrong idea and just meant his teammate. And child? Whose child?

“The king is always in the garden,” she says simply, bowing before she leaves.

  
“Wa-wait don't leave me in here with a baby! What if she wakes up?” Keith says, nervousness over taking his mind.

  
A light sigh escapes the baby, and Keith's head snaps to look at her. Of course, she'd wake up right now.  
The baby is more beautiful than anything he's ever seen. He carefully pries her out of Lance’s firm grasp. “Good morning Princess.” Keith isn't sure what came over him, he's never called someone princess and actually meant it in that kind of way.

  
He looks her over, and can't get over how much she resembles Lance minus the purple hair, eyes, and slightly lighter complexion. She has his freckles and his smile, the twinkle in his eyes. He brushes back her hair to reveal her ears, they are pointer than an average human but other than that she is a perfectly human baby. Had she had different color eyes and hair he would have sworn Lance and she is related.

  
“Let’s see what the nice lady brought you, hmm?” He places her gently on the bed, before rummaging around the basket. He finds what looks like diapers, a dress, and a makeshift bottle. He groans, inwardly, not knowing how to use these items.

  
“Okay, okay, let’s see what I can do.” He continues on, knowing that this will most likely end in failure. Keith is a man of his words something he hates the most is when people go back on their promises. He puts a diaper underneath her, “I think it goes like this?”

  
Keith hears laughing next to him, “Dude, you’re doing that so wrong.”

  
He scoffs, “Enlighten me then, oh master of diapers, how do you do it?”

  
Lance pushes him to the side, “Watch and learn Mullet.” With expert speed, Lance puts the fresh diaper on the baby.

  
“You are clearly the master of cleaning crap up,” Keith says.

  
Lance laughs, “Thanks, I guess,” He picks the baby up, “what else do you got in there?”

“What looks like a dress, and maybe food? I don’t know, I’m not good with babies.”

  
“Dress is good, hand it to me,” Lance shifts the baby to one arm and holds his other out. Keith hands it to him and he shimmies it on the small girl. The dress is made with purple flowers and suits her perfectly.

  
“How did you get so good at stuff like that?”

  
“Lots of practice. I come from a large family. Here, hold her for a second,” he holds out the baby.

  
Keith hesitates before taking her from him, “Why?”

  
“Because I have to wash my hands, duh. Put more support under her head.”

  
Keith follows orders, watching the other boy warily, “I was told the king could explain the situation to us.”

  
“Oh? Really?” Lance raises an eyebrow.

  
Keith casts his gaze downward, “Yeah, that’s what the maid who brought in the baby stuff told me.”

  
Lance looks at the pair and realizes just how much the baby looks like Keith. It’s scary. “Then we should get going, someone is missing her.”

  
“Ye-yeah, we should, shouldn’t we?”

  
Unsure why Keith looks so hesitant, Lance smiles reassuringly, “Yeah, we should.”

  
Keith hands Lance the baby, “Carry her, please? I’m scared I might drop her.”

  
“Yeah, no problem man.”

  
When they reach the garden, they're greeted by a withered old man who seems to be turning into a tree. His voice is old but soothing, “I see you two have met the Flower of Life.”

  
“The Flower of Life?” They ask, voices laced with confusion.

  
The tree-man smiles, glancing at the baby, “You two have been blessed with a gift given to few, and never before been bestowed upon outsiders."  
Lance looks up in disbelief, “Do you mean?”

  
“Yes, young paladin, the child is yours, yours and your partners.”

  
“There must be some mistake, we can’t be parents,” Keith gasps out, not fully comprehending.

  
“The flower does not make mistakes. It only gives children to those with purest hearts and the greatest bond with each other.”

  
Keith shakes his head, “No, this is a mistake, we only came here on a diplomatic mission. This can’t be happening.”

  
“Life does not always go the way you want, but it may work out for the better,” the king smiles, “you cannot control everything.”

  
Lance looks at the baby in his arms, “She’s beautiful.”

  
“Very,” the king agrees.

  
“I want-I want to take her with us.”

  
“I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice.”

  
Lance looks up, even more, confused now, “What do you mean?”

  
“Children born from the life-giving flower need their parents to survive. They will ultimately die without them.”

  
Keith speaks up again, “It is not safe with us. We are fighting a war against the Galra, she could get hurt.”

  
“I trust you’ll protect her with the full power of Voltron.”

  
“We can’t always be there. What if…”

  
“You dwell too much on the what ifs and the negatives, young man, she is your daughter after all. I have faith in you, both of you.”

  
“You do?” They say in unison.

  
The tree-man laughs, “I do. So much in fact, that I’m agreeing to ally myself and my people with you against the Galra, given the child is loved and thrives in your care.”

  
Lance and Keith eye each other, trying to figure out what the other is thinking. After a few ticks pass they come to a silent agreement which is to do their best for their daughter. Keith whispers, “We accept.”

  
“That’s good to hear my boy. The only thing left is to name the little flower.”

  
The boys look at each other again, understanding dawning on their faces. They seem to be able to communicate without using words. Lance speaks, his voice proud and clear, “Violet, her name is Violet.”


	2. Reaping What We Sowed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith bring their baby home to The Team.

“Explain this to me one more time, just so we’re on the same page.” Shiro paces the length of the docking bay, every so often running his hands through his hair distractedly. He is slipping into a minor mental breakdown.

Keith and Lance are standing in front of Blue, the baby sleeping soundly nestled in Keith’s arm. Lance opens his mouth to explain, yet again, the events that led to Violet to becoming...alive.

“Well, obviously, no one taught these two bozos the fundamentals of safe sex,” Pidge interrupts, “Hasn’t anyone told you, ‘Don’t be silly wrap your willy’?”

Hunk joins in, as he fawns over the sleeping baby, “The real question is, which one of them carried her? My money's on Keith.” He is smiling, joking, but Pidge turns thoughtful.

“That makes the most sense, him being half alien and everything. Anything is possible, there are so many unknown variables. Maybe I should run some tests....”

The boys in question are redder than the lion, but Lance snaps out of his embarrassment, “There will be no testing on my daughter or her father. And I keep telling you, it wasn’t like that.”

Coran, who has been uncharacteristically quiet up to this point, smirked, “My my Lance, I didn’t know you could be so protective over Keith.”

Lance groans, “Violet will die without love and attention from both parents. She needs both of us. I don’t like, like him or anything.”

Keith finds himself oddly disappointed, “Ye-yeah this is for her. We decided to try and get along for her sake.”

Hunk smiles, “I think that’s sweet. Can I hold her?” He holds his arms out in expert fashion, he is someone who has been around his fair share of babies.

“Sure,” Keith says, moving to hand Hunk the baby. His heart aches at the thought of being away from her for even a second, but he trusts Hunk and wants more people to see the perfection that is his… and Lance’s, daughter.

Violet’s eyes open after being settled in Hunk’s arms. “Aww, she is so precious. Even her eyes are purple. Do you think that’s a coincidence, like the whole blue and red thing, or because of Keith’s family background.”

Lance rubs the back of his neck, “Err, a little bit of both? The Tree King said she is a ‘product of our souls and our blood’ or something like that. So the purple is not strictly Keith’s fault.”

Coran begins to fawn over her as well, “I haven’t seen a baby this cute since Allura,” his face lights up with excitement, “I kept all of Allura’s baby stuff! I’ll get it out of storage!” He runs off into the main part of the castle.

Shiro smiles, as well, “She is adorable.” Keith’s heart swells with happiness, was this what being apart of a family feels like?

Even Pidge joins in the fawning, “You guys did a good job with your ‘magic flower pollination’, I guess you guys don’t screw up everything.”

Allura clears her throat, “She can’t stay here.” She feels a twinge of guilt but she knows what she’s saying needs to be said.

Keith’s heart drops, his voice grows rough and he finds it hard to speak. “Why not?” He can feel Lance tense next to him, has he always been this aware of Lance’s emotions? He looks at Lance’s face and can see the anger set in the lines of his face. Keith doesn’t ever remember seeing Lance this angry before.

“We are on a mission, she is a distraction. A war is not a place for a baby.” She’s not wrong, and that fact breaks Keith’s heart.

“She is not a distraction! She is a baby, our baby, and she needs us. Aren’t we supposed to protect people?” Lance is fuming, a fierce need to protect shining through his eyes.

“One baby is not more important than the whole universe,” Allura retorts. Keith remembers when he said something similar to Pidge, looking back now he can’t believe how heartless he was. To him, Violet may as well be the most important thing is the universe, she is the entire universe.

Keith stuggles reigns in his emotions, “She is to me. If you don’t want her here, then you are going to have to find someone new to pilot Red.”

Lance places a reassuring hand on Keith’s shoulder, “Blue, too. Either she stays or we’re leaving together.” Violet is worth it, the universe could burn as long as she and Keith were safe. But he’d also save it single handedly if he had too.

Allura looks to Shiro for support, but he just stares back with disappointment etched on his face. She learns that that is her least favorite Shiro face to be on the receiving end of. She quickly retracts her statement, “Fine, she can stay, but you’ll see that I am right.” She leaves the bay, still feeling Shiro’s disappointment in her soul.

Shiro lets out a sigh before looking back at his paladins, he will never get over how proud of them he is. They are growing in front of his eyes. He wishes Allura could see it. Determined he says, “Ok, you heard the Princess, now let’s prove her wrong.”

Keith feels his heart slip back to its proper place and slows its pace, he smiles softly, “Yeah, I like that idea.” Lance’s hand moves from his shoulder, Keith didn’t even realize that he had been holding his breath because he feels his chest heave the moment the hand is gone.

Violet, completely obvious to what just happened, yawns and cuddles deeper in Hunk’s arms. Everyone left in the bay smiles at the display. “Hey, Keith, why don’t we find her a place to sleep? Just while we work everything out, okay?” Lance’s voice is so gentle that it sends shivers down Keith’s spine.

“Yeah,” and just then Coran comes running in, clearly thrilled.

“I found everything, the cradle, clothes, all of it. We’ll need to make a stop to get diapers and food, but we’re pretty much covered with everything else. Don’t worry little angel, Uncle Coran is here for you.”

“Thanks man, we appreciate it. If only Allura was as supportive as you,” Lance says, feeling a little petty, and unable to stop himself.

Coran looks confused for a second, “Allura? She...wasn’t okay with Violet?”

Shiro’s smile falters, “She believes our cause is more important and is afraid that Violet might be a distraction. However,she is staying and we will show her that she is wrong.”

Lance feels relieved at Shiro’s statement, he finally lets out that breath he was holding. Keith instantly feels the tension leave his body. It hurts that Allura isn’t on their side with this, but they’ll manage. He's managed without Allura being on his side before. They have each other, and in this moment, nothing else matters.

Coran sighs, hurt that his Allura would suggest that after everything they’ve been through, “I will talk to her,” his demeanor changes to something more cheerful, he clasps his hands loudly, “Now, let’s get this nursery ready.”

They put the crib in Lance’s room for the time being, Violet takes to her bed quite well. It takes another load off her parent’s shoulders. They decide that Violet will take turns sleeping in Lance and Keith’s rooms, until she’s old enough to have her own. After they lay her down, they retreat into the sitting room to relax for the first in 48 vargas.

“I’m going to make a monitor so we can keep an eye on her at all times,” Pidge says, slipping into the role of older caretaker. She is doing the same things Matt did with her. She runs off with her little science grin plastered on her face.

Hunk pats both Keith and Lance on the back and pulls them both in for a lion hug. “We’re probably all hungry. I’m going to go whip us up some food. Just so you guys know I love you guys” he sniffles towards the end, good old Hunk.

Coran laughs, “I forgot how fun babies are. It’s been so long since Allura was little,” he stand up, “I’m going to see what else we saved.”

“Okay, Coran, have fun!” Lance calls out behind him. He is so grateful for his friends, it almost erases the bitter taste that Allura’s words left in his mouth. Out of everyone, she should have been the one to understand.

Shiro looks at the boys, “I trust you,” he sucks in a deep breath, trying to do his best dad impression, “both of you, to do your best for this baby while still doing your Voltron duties. You guys have a lot more responsibilities now.”

“We will, Shiro,” Keith says, eager to prove himself to his father-figure. Shiro has done so much for Keith. Lance nods in agreement.

“Well then, get some rest, you are going to need it.” He ruffles Keith’s hair affectionately, something he has done since he was little, and pats Lance on the back.

“Good night,” they call out as he leaves them. Suddenly, Lance realises that they are alone.

“Long day, huh?” He looks directly at Keith, who looks dead tired.

Keith laughs a little, before sighing, “Longer than I thought it was going to be, quintant two and I’m already dead on my feet.”

 

“It’s only going to get worse, I’m afraid. Babies are ruthless and they feed off of misery and the tears of their parents.”

“The things we do for our children.” Keith chuckles from exaustion.

“Preach,” Lance rubs his face, “everyone seems to be excited, though. That’s refreshing. Made everything a lot easier.”

“Everyone but Allura.”

Lance growls, “Yeah, that really pissed me off.”

“I could tell. Hey, she'll come around, buddy. Everything will work out, you'll see,” he finds the urge to comfort Lance aching in his heart.

“Honestly, she could never ‘come around’ and I'd be okay with it. I thought she'd understand, you know, having lost her father, how much family means, especially now. But she is more focused on her vendetta against Zarkon to even see what was wrong with what she said.”

“But she will understand, Lance, Violet is amazing, perfect. Allura won't be able to help but fall in love with her.”

Lance smiles, “She is amazing, isn't she? She's straight out of a fairytale, I swear.”

Keith lays back on the couch, “A little princess.”

Lance flows suit, lacing his hands behind his neck, “A fairy princess.”

They end up nodding off like that, next to each other, sprawled out on the couch. By morning, Keith's head had ended up resting on Lance’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPACE DAD IS NOW SPACE GRANDPA


	3. *Insert Flower Pun*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys really need to work on those communication issues. (I am also trying to include some Spanish for Lance but it's really hard because I speak French not Spanish! So any pointers would be greatly appreciated.)

Despite the boy’s best efforts, their attempts to ‘co-parent’ seem to be failing. Some of it stems from Keith’s lack of basic baby knowledge, some of it from their poor communication skills about Violet and what she needs, and the rest is from what they still have not said to each other. There is something just hanging there, waiting, for someone body to say it. Teasing them, just out of reach. The tension between them is driving everyone in the castle crazy.

_I need you._

Today, Keith leaves Violet with Lance for the second time this week, even though it was his day to take care of her. Lance understands that he is struggling with the sudden responsibility that is having a baby, but they’re supposed to be partners in this. Keith can’t keep ditching him when things get too hard, Lance would much rather do everything himself than deal with the what ifs Keith is giving him right now. He needs someone he can depend on, not someone who will jump ship whenever things get a little hard, or he gets a little afraid. Violet and Lance need to be able to rely on Keith and know that he will be there no matter what. 

Lance can feel his frustrations feeding into Violet and the poor girl has been miserable. She’s been screaming and crying since Keith left her with Lance, and Lance’s anger towards her other father has just been fueling it. She hasn’t slept all day, she is just so tired and Lance can’t help her. God, why can’t this be easier? Why can’t his mom be here? He feels like crying, he just wants his mom. He wants to be back on Earth, to never have stepped foot in that stupid lion.

He freezes, no he doesn't regret stepping into Blue. He loves being apart of Voltron. He loves saving the universe. He does not regret being a part of this team. And if he never stepped in Blue, he wouldn’t have Violet. Violet is the best thing that could ever happen to him. She is perfect and he could never regret her, she is their beautiful little flower. Perfect in every way in his eyes.

Lance glances down at her, finally noting her bright red cheeks. He has assumed that they were from all the crying she had been doing. It didn’t cross his mind that she might be sick. He places a kiss on her forehead and realizes that she does, in fact, have a high temperature. He curses himself for not noticing earlier.

He picks up his daughter, who has been loudly wailing until this point, “I’m so sorry, love. I know you don’t feel good but please, Cariña, just stop crying for me. No more tears, por favor. Papi will give you anything, just please stop crying.” He holds her close to his chest, gently rocking her. He feels as if he might cry himself. He hasn’t slept in 36 Vargas and he hasn’t seen Keith in 6, he can’t help but be a little bit overwhelmed. He can only imagine how she's feeling.

Violet’s purple eyes stare up at him red and puffy as if she is asking him why he and Keith can’t get along for her sake. Begging him to try, he can almost hear her say, “Please, Papi, for me.” He can tell she is feeling the same way he is, a mix of exhausted and just plain miserable. And she’s sick. A pitiful pair, the two of them are.

“I am trying so hard Violet. I d-don’t know what else to do. It’s so hard to talk to him, and he won’t listen. ” Lance lets out a heavy sigh, “I’m so tired. I know he is struggling with this too, but I need him, Violet. I’m tired of being angry all the time.”

Violet stops crying, seemingly pacified by his confession. and wiggles her way deeper in his chest, Lance hears a contented hum. He runs his fingers through her soft purple hair and starts singing her a lullaby his mom and he used to sing to his little sister on those nights when she couldn’t sleep.

_"A la nanita nana_   
_nanita ella, nanita ella_   
_Mi niña tiene sueño_   
_bendito sea, bendito sea_   
_bendito sea, bendito sea_   
_Fuentecita que corre_   
_Clara y sonora_   
_Ruiseñor que en la selva_   
_Cantando y llora_   
_Calla mientras la cuna_   
_Se balancea_   
_A la nanita nana_   
_Nanita ella"_

 

She quickly falls asleep, her little hands gripping on tightly on his shirt. Lance’s shirt is wet from her tears. Little whimpers still escape her, but they are quickly joined by her little snores. Lance feels relief wash over him, feeling instantly better now that his daughter is no longer crying. Hopefully, she’ll feel better after a nap. A giant weight is finally lifted off his chest, he can breathe again.

He needs to tell Keith that Violet is sick. It’s only right that he knows, and Lance might need help with her later. He looks outside his door and sees Shiro and Coran conversing in the hall. He really does not want to do this, add another burden on Shiro, but he does not really have a choice. He groans at himself for letting the situation get this far.

He sucks in a deep breath, “Shiro, have you seen Keith?” Lance finds his voice is nothing more than a whisper.

“No, why? And isn't his day with Violet?” Shiro gives him a look somewhere mildly concerned and then shocked as he eyes the baby latched on to Lance's shirt. Shiro raises an eyebrow in question.

“Yeah, it was,” Lance admits, feeling oddly ashamed, “He dropped her off a little while ago. I haven’t seen him since.”

Shiro groans, “That boy, I’m sorry.” This was something he was worried about with Keith, that he might get scared and run away from the situation. If Keith is afraid of anything, it is getting too close to someone he might lose. And in this case, there are two people that would break him if anything happened to them.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind. It’s just...I think she’s sick and I want to tell him.”

Coran looks at the boy, his eyes intense, “You haven’t been sleeping.” His voice matter-of-factly, he is clearly worried about the boy. Lance has always been his favorite paladin.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Shiro’s face takes a more concerned expression.

“I just haven’t had the time? Between training, the mission yesterday, and Keith leaving me with Violet sleep just escapes me, I guess.” Violet shifts and Lance bounces a little, trying to keep her asleep, while he tries to avoid eye contact with the Black Paladin.

“Lance, you can’t do that. It’s not fair to you or the team. We need you to be on your A-game.”

Lance glances down, ashamed, “I know, I just didn’t want to pressure him into anything. I know this hard for him. And he isn't that easy to talk to, you know?"

Shiro laughs, "Oh, I know. I'll tell Keith about Violet. You get some sleep."

"But.."

"No buts, go sleep. Coran, will you do research and see if you can find any medication for Violet? And I'll tell Keith."

Coran nods and walks away, frowning slightly with worry. Lance sighs, "Ok, Shiro, whatever you say. You're the boss."

Shiro stands in the hall until Lance returns to his room. When is sure that he is alone, he sighs, "These boys will be the death of me." Then he begins to head towards the training deck.

Inside of his room, he lays Violet down in her cradle. Lance is in awe of a creature who was a banshee a little bit ago could possibly be this calm and serene, peaceful little flower now. He can finally breathe, suddenly he is hit with just how tired he is. Keith and he have to talk about this, they can’t continue on like this.

He’ll do it after his little nap, though. Talking to Keith in the state he is now would not do either of them very good. It would probably end up in another fight if Lance is completely honest. He throws himself on his bed, quickly falling into a deep sleep, not even bothering to pull the blanket over himself.

~~~~~~~~~  
Keith goes to the training deck after dropping Violet with Lance, he only had her a few hours but Lance is better with her anyway. She is better off with Lance, Keith decides. He trains for hours, beating the robot with unnerving aggression. He doesn't know what he is so mad about, but it has been building in him for days. He just snapped, his anger just seems to have gotten the better of him.

He is so immersed in his fighting that he doesn’t even hear the door open, or Shiro slipping in. The robot warrior knocks his sword out of his hand and instead of trying to retrieve it, he just beats it with his fists.

Shiro ends the training sequence, “Easy there, Tiger, you might hurt yourself, again.” He places a gentle hand on Keith’s shoulder, trying to ground him. He has seen Keith in this state before and he doesn’t snap out of it till he either passes out or something is broken. Last time it was his wrist. Shiro can’t afford to have a paladin hurt, but he also can’t bear to see the boy he sees as his brother hurting like this.

Keith freezes as he feels Shiro’s hand on his shoulder, “Shiro...I’m-I’m sorry.”

Shiro sighs in his ‘worried father’ sort of way, “Don’t apologize, talk to me. What’s bothering you?” He moves them both to the bench that's just off to the side. Keith has been visibly struggling for a few days now, but Shiro wouldn’t think it would get this bad this fast.

“I don’t know,” Keith admits, “I was supposed to spend today with Violet, next thing I know I’m here, fighting.”

“Where is Violet?” He asks to make sure Keith knows where his daughter is because Shiro is afraid of what sort of headspace he might in.

Keith is quiet for a moment, almost as if he can’t remember where he put his infant daughter, “With Lance. I dropped her off with him. He is better than me with her anyway and she wasn’t sleeping.”

“Didn’t Lance have her yesterday, after the mission?”

“Yeah…..”

“And the day before?”

“Yeah, why?” Keith stares at him blankly not seeing the point Shiro is trying to make.

Shiro lets out an annoyed groan, “Keith, Keith, I can’t believe you. You promised to do this together. You promised me that you would help each other.”

“We are!” Keith hates yelling at Shiro but he really doesn't like what he is insinuating.

“Really? Keith, think about Lance for a minute, think about how much he has to do and then add the fact that he has had to take care of an infant for the last 3 days. What time does he have to do anything else? He hasn’t slept at all.”

Keith never thought about it like that, "He didn't say anything to me about it." Why wouldn’t Lance tell him if he was struggling?

"Because, and I quote, he doesn't want to pressure you into anything. He is trying to be considerate to your feelings and you haven't even thought about him once."

He starts to feel defensive, Shiro has no idea what he is going through, "I have!"

"When? Keith, I'm not mad at you. I know what's going through your head. I just want you to see things from Lance's perspective, I need you to see what he's going through."

The truth is that Keith wasn’t really thinking about Lance, he felt really guilty about it. He, also, didn’t feel great that it was Shiro who was pointing it out to him. Lance should have come and talked to him about this.

“Oh no, you don’t. Keith, you cannot blame this on him. I can see it in your eyes.” Shiro is the best at reading the emotions of his paladins, especially Keith.

“I wasn’t. I just didn’t think about it from his view.That was selfish of me, wasn’t it?”

“Keith, you’ve been treating him like her nanny instead of her other father.”

Keith closes his eyes and lets out a shaky breath, Shiro, of course, is right. He usually is. One thing is certain, Lance and he needs to talk. Everyone, especially Violet, will only suffer if they continue not talking about this tension hanging over them. “Okay, Shiro, I’ll talk to him.”

“There is another thing,” Shiro says, Keith can tell it is probably a big deal.

“What?” Keith's voice is laced with his worry, Shiro is shocked at how much Keith is growing these past few months. The Keith now is far cry from the Keith he took care of on Earth.

“Lance wanted to tell you, but I pulled rank and told him to get some rest. Violet is sick, she's asleep now, but that is probably why she’s been so upset lately. Wait..Keith!”

Shiro is still talking when Keith takes off towards Lance’s room. This disconnect between them has caused Violet to suffer, and that feels like a stake in Keith’s heart. How could he have been so stupid? Everyone is suffering because of him. Stupid, stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, the author here. This probably could have been done earlier, but this genius decided that taking 9 classes this semester was a good idea. ~It is not a good idea.~ I'll to try to be a little more regular with my updates, but no promises.


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